The Art Department with deviantART brings you about the best news any art student could ask for: free tuition!

Through the Train Your Brain Challenge, The Art Department (TAD) is offering a massive number of exclusive scholarship opportunities to members of deviantART. TAD is the best of the best in providing online art education, with a variety of programs taught by world-class faculty. Check out their group, TheArtDept, to watch video tutorials from their faculty!

Submit your work in one of the five disciplines offered by TAD: Illustration, Drawing and Painting, Animation, Entertainment 2D, and Entertainment 3D. Make something new or use something you've made in the past! You could win tuition and travel to one of TAD's programs, a trip to Pixar Studios near San Francisco, or free online art classes. The total prizes available are over $300,000 in value and there will be over 150 winners!

A Book Cover OR Graphic Novel Page: Submit an image that would be suitable as book cover art or as a page in a graphic novel. The image must include a figure or animal of any sort. If the entry is a graphic novel page at least one panel should include a figure or animal. ("Figures" can be humans, aliens, robots, monsters, mythical creatures, etc.)

Subject matter:

Any; you can create your own or use an existing story. For example, you may choose to produce a hypothetical version of any well-known book or graphic novel, such as "War of the Worlds," by H.G. Wells.

Content:

A new or existing work. PG-13 must not require a mature filter designation on deviantART.

Proportions:

Any.

Media:

Any graphic medium submitted as a single PNG or JPEG.

Format:

Either vertical or horizontal (horizontal images must be suitable as a wraparound image for book cover art, or as a spread in a graphic novel).

Landscape, Figure, Portrait or Still Life: Submit an image that is of a quality and "finished" as to be appropriate to hang in a public place. ("Figures" can be humans, aliens, robots, monsters, mythical creatures, etc. Landscapes can be real or imagined.)

Subject matter:

Any; must be original, no fan art or copies of master works or other works in the public domain or under copyright.

Content:

A new or existing work. PG-13 and must not require a mature filter designation on deviantART.

Proportions:

Any.

Media:

Any traditional and/or digital medium but original file must be "hand drawn." Must be submitted as a single PNG or JPEG.

In-Game or Cinematic/Film or .gif Animation: Create a piece of character animation using any style, medium or software of choice. The only limitation is that the animation must tell a story or moment, but not be more than a minute.

Subject matter:

Any; must be original, no copies, mash-ups or fan art.

Content:

A new or existing work. PG-13 must not require a mature filter designation on deviantART.

Proportions:

Can include character, experimental, .gif, creature, particle fx, or any other animation work.

Character, Creature, Environment, or Industrial Design: Submit a design in full color or in black-and-white of any of these categories (Character, Creature, Environment, Industrial Design). Think about the originality of the piece, the uniqueness of design and how well you command the ability to convey the idea.

Subject matter:

Any; must be original, no fan art or copies of master works or other works in the public domain or under copyright.

Content:

A new or existing work. PG-13 and must not require a mature filter designation on deviantART.

Proportions:

Any.

Media:

Any traditional and/or digital medium but original file must be "hand drawn." Must be submitted as a single PNG or JPEG.

Character, Creature, Environment, or Industrial Design: Submit a quality, well-presented, render of a 3D model or 3D texture of your creation (applied textures) – May also be a model/texture combination. With all the great 3D art out there both commercially and seen on the internet, what do you do that sets you apart from the rest and how well do you present it?

Subject matter:

Any; must be original, no copies or fan art.

Content:

A new or existing work. PG-13 must not require a mature filter designation on deviantART.

Media:

Any (can be 3D sculpture maquettes, 3D digital models, 3D digital textures) All submissions must be in a single PNG or JPEG file.

Format:

Either vertical or horizontal.

Proportions:

3D models must include both mesh renders and model renders (untextured). For 3D textures, please include the maps on the same page as the render. If the 3D artist is submitting both, then include all of the requirements for both the model and texture submissions. If the artist is submitting 3D sculpture maquettes, then the submission must include front side and 3/4 views in the submission.

There will be 155 winners broken out into 5 first place winners, 50 second place winners and 100 third place winners over the five categories of Illustration, Drawing and Painting, Animation, Entertainment 2D and Entertainment 3D.

All entries will be judged by faculty associated with The Art Department using the following criteria:

Creativity

Successful Use of the Discipline

Following the Assignment

Overall Impact

For inspiration and special tips, watch FREE videos by the TAD faculty about related subject matter. These videos provide tons of information about how to begin the thinking process for making quality, dynamic pictures and ideation for these assignments. Get your idea on! Click Here To Learn More

Over $300,000 in prizes and scholarships are available to over 150 winners through the Train Your Brain Contest -- the largest prize package in the history of deviantART! Submit your work in one of the five disciplines offered by The Art Department, and you could win tuition and travel to one of TAD's programs, a trip to Pixar Studios near San Francisco, or free online art classes!

guys, give the judges time to at least go through all of the entiresthey have to pick the best out of 5 different categories, including animations, which means they have to WATCH those animations. also, the official rules say AROUND the 10th of december not EXACTLY ON THE 10TH OF DECEMBER AND NO LATER. calm yo tits people they'll get the results to you eventually. be patient.

Yea I agree, hopefully this just means that all entries are being looked at as opposed to just the most popular ones, which are usually far from the best pieces. I saw some entries with 0 comments that destroy the top popular entries, so that means the poor judges have to go through everything.

I studied at TAD for this year (Spring 2012-Fall 2012) and I won't be continuing next year. My background already includes a 4 year fine arts degree in illustration, so a lot of the material in their Foundations program was pretty redundant. The classes I recommend the most from foundations program would be Composition, Figure I, and Light & Form, as those classes have really boosted my image-making ability and helped me better execute what I already knew. All the faculty members are great at what they do, but some definitely better than others as professional educators (getting homework assignments posted, using the classroom interface etc). However, dealing with the admins left a bad taste in my mouth though, and in the end I definitely didn't feel like I got my money's worth, especially not for the second semester.

That is a great thing, you gained some perspective. Fine arts would probably be the best thing to study in the arts as it should provide a solid foundation.. any technology can be learned later. I did a 4 year Media Arts/Animation program and what I remember learning from the most was on my own/books and from other classmates or artists around me, not so much the instructors... They kind of just tell you to get something done and it is up to you to figure out how to do it.

You know, I actually just got my degree in Electronic Imaging and Media Arts, but it was a 2 year program and honestly--I've learned so, so much. My instructors were amazing and I still keep in close contact with a few of them.

They still have you take the foundation courses and everything, so you don't miss out on it(Life Drawing was probably one of my favorites!) so I don't think all programs are bad In fact, it's a community college I went to, and we get people from the university coming in to take our classes because they don't have the same resources we do.

Maybe it's because the classes are smaller and the teachers tend to care more. Because of that, I really believe it's not the area of study that makes the difference, but the faculty and staff running it.

That's cool, I do think community colleges maybe a better option for this kind of tech study as they are generally less expensive and the focus seems more on the education than the student's wallet. I'm lucky enough to have never had a problem finding work after college but one thing I notice is that employers don't really care about the degree, they only want to see what your design/art looks like. In the end it is all a battle with yourself.

Certainly. I found out a couple years ago that when it comes to the arts, people care less about a slip of paper than they do your actual skill, which is why I was comfortable just doing a 2 year program. I mean, it still looks nice on a resume, but not always necessary.

If you don't mind me asking, do you just freelance? Or have you worked for a company in an art position? I'm just starting to get more experience in freelance work, but it's not exactly steady!

I just freelance now, however nothing really illustration related. I work as a graphic designer, since that is what seemed to pay. I built up a client base working for a large company for a good while then left. Kudos to those who can make a steady living off of their illustrations! Everything concerning drawing for me is pretty much just a hobby now unless it is a personal project like a kid's book I'm working on. I wish you good luck, never let go of your dreams.

Yeah, in my school is the same, I'm from Spain, we're in our first year and I'm very very disapointed... Teachers only say what they want you to draw, put a deadline and afterwards, they give you a mark... Maybe I've drawn things I'd never though I would draw, but... It feels a bit like "loosing my time..." And I've learned more from the other colleges than the teachers themselves...

Well, that's actually quite natural for the first year. Generally, the further along you get in a program of study in art, the more freedom you have. Right now they're teaching you the foundations and the skills to develop your own ideas. Don't get too discouraged, just do your best and I'm sure things will get better! (And hopefully the teachers will too)

By the way, if you have a existing Deviation and you want to enter this contest for example with that Deviation. Can you just change the category of the Deviation to the contest? If you can then I did something funny.

Its weird that it appears abandoned... I mean knew that the judging process would take longer than the 10th, otherwise they would of had way too much work to do! but how come this is happening?A: Not a peep from DA about anything that's happening at all with the processB: People can still enter and have been since way past the deadline now which is unfair to those of us that tried to make it in time if they are counted...C: None of the questions being asked by members are being answered by any DA staff at all? This is strange as I've only ever witness the DA staff being uber helpful and if they cant help, they always contacted and said why...Never just totally ignored people.

Their submissions might not even be taken into account if they were submitted past the 3rd December anyway.DA seems to give more info on the Odyssey II project than any news on this.Also, there are a lot of works to be checked and picked from. While in some areas there are very few relevant entries that one can notice at a glimpse, others seem to have a lot that actually follow the rules. And then there's the animation area, probably a lot of work to do in picking the right ones.

I'm just gonna say this, next time when you're gonna make a contest like this make a category for both proffesionals and for amatures so it will be more fair (in that way you'll also give the opportunity of education to people that didn't have the luck or the money to study what they love and want), oh also something else that it came to my notice don't let the views or likes to affect your judjment T_T

You failed to notice a thing: Many professionals had no instruction at all. They're so called "professionals" out of need, their work may not be good enough so they can be called this way. Also, just because they work that doesn't mean they got tons of money to pay for a good school, where did this come from?

This is my situation. I may be a professional in my country because, well, we don't have a plenty of truly kickass concept artists here, but I would be barely a student on the exterior because while my painting skills may daze the most unaware people I just lack all the fundamentals, my base knowledge is weak and I get the most basic anatomy and perspective wrong.

I've got a place to live and a more or less stable outcome, but can you imagine the people like me who may struggle even to pay their rent? How are they supposed to pay for a school, or compete with the great kickass professional names?

I'm sorry i was only refuring to the professionals that they have education in that field.

Answering to your question yeah i can imagine, ever cross your mind that i might be in that situation?So it will be fair for someone that does make some making from their art to compete against amatures that they might just starting and they can't even afford to buy a tablet?

So... fuck people who are old enough to be expected to be working, only the children and starters deserve the attention? ^^

I'm sorry, do you know what I've done to buy my first tablet? I saved my money for, like, 6 months, and it wasn't a Wacom, it was really small and from a generic brand, 1 year later it was almost dead. Still, was worthy it.

Then, how I bought my Wacom? I got an internship that paid roughly $150/month and saved all I could for some time since a good is Intuos really expensive in Brazil (everything is). Then, I imported it, paid the 60% taxes + $50 shipping (still cheaper than buying here) and finally had a nice Intuos. I've been using it even now.

So, please, don't tell me about not having a tablet, if you really want you're going to figure a way to have one, you've got to be patient and fight for it. Life isn't easy and that's the fun!

Also, from what I've understood, this contest is about looking for talents who need development, not about giving gifts for children or starters.

Sorry if I'm being rather harsh, no offense, but, really... fight for it.

Want to talk about how expensive is? Because i live in Greece and i know about stuff been expensive and how not be able to even afford the basic for living.And did i ever said to not give the opportunity to people that are old enough? In case that you haven't noticed there're a lot of prises for each one, i was making a statment that it would be more fair to be two categories and that from both of them would be winners for the grand prize, so i'm not been ignorand.And who said about giving gifts for children, maybe you haven't noticed but there're children and starters out there that are better from professionals and they don't get a chance to make it, maybe i see it that way cus i am in volved in the field of teaching.And don't even try to give me life lessons and i'm sorry i'm not gonna write down my life story thats for me to know.

Whatever, you won't get satisfied, right? You sound like if you want people handing everything to you, there is a way but all you do is complain how life is unfair and giving excuses instead of actually doing something.

She is the one acting like that? I think it's more like you are. You're the one acting like you know everybody else life. First off, she wasn't even referring to herself, she was referring to people in general. Second off, you don't know how other peoples life is like. Think about the people out there who do work but all of there money goes to supporting their family. Think about the people who do there hardest to get a job but can't because of the economy. Think about all the people who work as hard as they can do the smallest thing for money but that little bit of money has to be put for help their family out to pay bills just so they have a place to live. So stop assuming you know somebody and you know there life. Because this world isn't all about you.

I was referring to people in general until she turned it personal. If you took care to read you would notice it. ;D

And you said exactly my point: Think about all the people who work as hard as they can do the smallest thing for money but that little bit of money has to be put for help their family out to pay bills just so they have a place to live.

From her point of view since they work they're already experienced, so they must compete in another category, a probably hardcore with true professionals. They work so they MUST be able to pay for tuition, and it would be unfair to put them with starters because... I don't even get it, the contest is about talent and hard work after all.

Read with attention and noticed how it changed from students vs professionals to poor vs I don't even know wtf. I just went along with the discussion, but it doesn't even make sense now.